Pneumatic tensioning and everting arrangements for cylindrical stocking knitting machines



R. TENCONI Oct. Z9, 1963 3,108,462 PNEUNATIC TENsIoNING AND EVERTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR CYLINDRICAL STOCKING KNITTING MACHINES Filed July 5, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet l una Oct. 29, 1963 R. TENcoNl 3,108,462

PNEUNATIC TENsIoNING AND EVERTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR CYLINDRICAL sTocKING KNITTING MACHINES Filed July 5, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 29, 1963 R TENcoNl 3,108,462

PNEUMATIC TENSIONING' AND EVERTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR CYLINDRICAL STOCKING KNITTING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 5. 1960 United States Patent O 3,ltl8,462 lNEUll/ATIC TENSINENG AND EVERTHNQ AR- RANGEMENTS FR CYLEDRECAL STCKHNG KNITTENG MACHINES Riccardo Teneoni, Varese, italy, assigner to Marcella Sessa Moretta, Varese, italy, a citizen ol italy Filed luiy 5, 1%0, Ser. No. 49,972 m Claims priority, appiication Ktaiy .inly Li, 1959 6 Claims. (Cl. tio-149) This invention relates to improvements in pneumatic hose tensioning and everting means for cylindrical knitting machines, intended chiey for the production of stockings, of the type described in the prior Italian Patent No. 556,014.

The above mentioned patent discloses a pneumatic tensioning device constituted substantially by a tube arranged coaxially inside the needle cylinder of the knitting machine -and provided with means whereby said tube inside which the hose travels downwardly during its formation, is rotated in synchronism with the needle cylinder.

Thus, there is no relative angular movement between the hose or stocking being produced and the tube so that uniform downward movement of `the hose is achieved.

With the tensioning means described above, the hose is tensionedV as it is being formed throughout its length, and therefore the tube inside which the hose moves downwardly should have a corresponding length which requires a certain minimum height for the frame or knitting machine. Furthermore, the removal 4of the iinished hose, everted or otherwise, cannot be effected directly underneath the needle cylinder without further increasing the height of the machine.

This leads to the necessity of providing complex connections between the tube .arranged coaxially inside the needle cylinder and a lateral tube leading either to the air suction means or to the means provided for removing the nished hose.

Accordingly, itis an object of this invention -to provide a relatively simple hose tensioning and everting arrangement for circular knitting machines, which arrangement leads to a substantial reduction of the height of the frame and also provides for a delivery of the hose directly to a point underneath the needle cylinder.

The above results are achieved, according to my invention, by means of lan arrangement including a tube disposed rotatably and coarially inside the needle cylinder and connected with the latter, so as to synchronously follow its continuous rotary and reciprocatory movements, a perforated carrier element mounted on the inner tube adjacent the lower end of the latter, the annular gap between the cylinder and the inner tube being lopen at its upper end and communicating at its lower fend with a closed casing, said inner -tube opening at its lower end into a chamber lying underneath the casing; `and a valve system yoperative to alternately connect the casing and chamber with suction means, so that, during the formation of the hose, the latter is subjected to suction `and is tensioned by a stream of air directed downwardly through said gap and collects lon the rotary carrier at the lower end of hte inner tube, while, upon completion of the stocking or hose, air is sucked downwardly in the inner tube and urges the fini-shed stocking out of the gap into the inside of the tube, whereby the stocking is automatically turned inside out or everted `and is delivered into the chamber communicating with the lower end of the tube.

Inside the needle cylinder and practically in contact with the hose may be arranged a stationary tube having its upper end dared outwardly almost into Contact with the upper end oi the needle cylinder, so as to form a passage or annular gap for the stocking between said CII vstationary tube and the central or inner rotary tube, while the lower end of the stationary tube is connected with the cas-ing into which said gap opens.

During the everting of the stockings, the space enclosed `by the casing and, thus also said `gap may be connected with the delivery end or pressure outlet of the fan or blower having its inlet constituting the suction means, While, at the Isame time, the inside of the rotary inner -tube is connected with the suction `end or inlet of the fan. Thus, a reinforcing eiect is obtained, so that the everting of the stocking is obtained more reliably and more speedily.

The chamber into which the rotary inner tube opens and which lies vcoaxially underneath the needle cylinder may be provided with a gate which opens during the formation of the stocking and closes during the everting of the latter. The above novel features of the hose-tensioning and everting means lead to substantial advantages over the known arrangements. The downward movement of the hose is obtained in an unhindered manner by reason of the provision `of the inner tube with the rotary carrier for the hose during its formation, which carrier constrains said hose to follow synchronously `the movements of the needle cylinder. Since the hose is no longer tensioned throughout its length, it is obvious that the height of the tube is substantially reduced; thus, it is possible, without increasing the height of the knitting machine, to obtain underneath the needle cylinder the space required for removing .the finished and automatically everted [hose and for accommodating a suitable container into which each hose Iis dropped after its formation'.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent in the following detailed `description of a preferred embodiment thereof which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 shows the needle cylinder in vertical cross-section with the tensioning and everting means shown in the condition thereof during the formation of a stocking, FIG. 2 is Ia view similar to FIG. 1, but with the tensioning and everting means being shown conditioned for everting the finished stocking, and FIG. 3 illustrates diagrammatically the operation of the arrangement according to my invention.

The drawings illustrate diagrammatically only those parts of a cylindrical knitting machine, of a type known per se, intended for the production of stockings, which parts are necessary to the understanding 'of the invention. Obviously, all the other parts of the knitting machine may be constructed and made to operate in a conventional manner.

The following description is limited to the detailed disclosure of my improved arrangement with lonly casual reference being made to certain parts of the needle cylinder with which said arrangement is associated.

In FiGS. l and 2, the reference numeral l generally identities the frame of the knitting machine in which the cylinder 2 carrying the needles 3 is rotatably mounted. Inside the cylinder 2 is arranged a stationary tube Sti lying practically in contact with the inner wall of the needle cylinder. rlhe upper end of tube .Bti is in the shape of a funnel 5 which extends closely adjacent to the upper end `of the cylinder 2. At its lower end projecting 4beyond the cylinder 2, the tube 39 is lconnected with a stationary casing 50 secured to the frame l of the machine. A second tube 31 is arranged coaxially inside `the tube 30 and has a smaller diameter than the latter. The upper end of tube 3l ends in a plane slightly lower than the upper end of the tube 3d. Said inner tube 3d is carried rotatably at its lower end by the casing Sil. Further, the tu-be 31 lis connected mechanically with the cylinder 2 so as to be rotated with the latter, ttor example, though the gear wheels 19 and 2.0' keyed to a common Vertical shaft 21 and respectively meshing with a toothed ring 19 secured to the cylinder 2, and with the toothed ring Ztl secured to the inner tube 31. The gears 19', 1.9, 29 and 2d provide a 1:1 transmission ratio so that the tube 31 revolves in perfect synchronism with and at the same speed as the cylinder 2. Near the lower end of the rotary tube 31 there is secured a carrier S1, the bottom of which is perforated and extends upwardly and outwardly to an outer periphery surrounded with a slight clearance by the casing 50. The carrier S1 rotates with the tube 31.

The ends of the tube 31 are both open and its lower end opens into a stationary `chamber 15 arranged coaxiallly underneath the cylinder 2. A gate 22, controlled through levers 23 `and 24 by a suitable cam 27 on the control drum 26 of the knitting machine is adapted to close the lower end of the chamber `15. The lever 24 is subjected to the action of a spring 52 which urges the gate into its open position, as shown in `full lines on FIG. 1. lt is only when the end of the lever '2d meets a projection on the annular cam 27 that `the gate 22 is closed (see FIG. 2). The casing 50 further carries two pipes 53 and 54 connected respectively with the suction and delivery ends of a suction fan 17 of a known type (see diagrammatic FlG. 3) driven by a motor 18. The pipe 54 is selectively connected through a valve 23a with the inside of `the casing `50 (FIG. 2) or with the atmosphere (FIG. 1).

In a similar manner, the tube 53 may be connected selectively with a connection 55 opening into the chamber 15 through a perforated wall 56 -of the latter (FIG. 2), or with the inside of the casing 5f). To this end, there is provided a valve 2S which is controlled together with the valve 28a by the same lever 24 which controls the gate 22 of the casing 15 (FIG. l).

The operation of the hose-tensioning and everting means described above is as follows:

During the operation of the knitting machines for the formation of a stocking, the control lever 24 is moved by the spring 52 to open the gate 22 and to hold the valves 28 and 28a in the positions shown in fulll lines `on FIG. 1 so that the suction pipe 53 is connected with the inside of the casing 5) and the delivery pipe 54 is connected with the atmosphere. This produces a suction or downward ow of the air in the gap separating the tubes 30 and 31, as shown by the arrows on FIG. 1, and, similarly, by the arrows drawn in ysolid lines on FIG. 3. Air is also sucked upwardly in the inner tube 31, so as to pass out of the latter into the gap between the tubes 30' and 31 and over the upper edge of the inner tube, as shown by the same arrows.

An energetic `downwardly directed stream of air passes therefore through the hose that is being formed in the gapy 'between said tubes 30 and 31. At the same time, the inner t-ube 31 and the perforated carrier 51 rotate synchronously with the needle cylinder 2, and the stream of air passes through the perforated carrier 51 since the latter rotates with its peripheral edge in the immedi- -ate proximity of the wall of the casing 50 surrounding it. When the hose has attained a suicient length to cause its lfree end to engage the carrier, it lies during the remainder of its formation on said carrier, so that it is constrained by the latter to follow the rotary movement of the cylinder 2.

It should be noted that by reason of the upward flow of air through the inside of the tube 31, the air producing the tensioning of the hose does not entirely pass through the gap between the cylinder and the dial so that the needles are stressed to a much lesser amount.

When the stocking is completed, the `cam 27 on the control drum 26 causes, through the levers 24 and 23, the closing of the gate 22 and the change in position of the valves 28 and Za (FIG. 2), so that the suction tube 53 now communicates through the connection 55, the perforated wall S6, the chamber 1S closed by the gate 22, with the inside of the rotary tube 31, while, on the other hand, the air delivery tube 54 is connected through the casing 5t) with the gap between the tubes 31 and 3).

rThe directions of the air streams sucked out of the inside `of the tube 31 and blown into the gap between the two tubes are reversed so that air fiows upwardly in the gap between tubes 3f) and 31 and downwardly in the tube 31, as represented by the arrows on FIG. 2 and the arrows in broken lines on FIG. 3. This leads automatically to the everting or turning inside out of the finished hose which passes through the tube 31, so as to drop into the chamber 15 and onto the closed gate 22. The operating cycle is -repeated with the different parts being returned to the positions illustrated in FIG. l. The previously formed stocking passes through the open gate 22 and drops into a container (not shown) lying underneath the latter.

The advantages and the simple structure Iand operation of the arrangment embodying the invention for tensioning and everting the hose are apparent in the above detailed description thereof.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is lto be understood that the invention is not limited to that precise embodiment, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention, except as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A fabric tensioning and everting arrangement for a cylindrical hose-producing knitting machine, comprising a needle cylinder, an inner tube extending coaxially within said needle cylinder and rotating in synchronism with the latter, said inner tube being spaced radially from said needle cylinder to define an annular gap therebetween opening freely at its upper end, a perforated carrier fixed to the lower end of said inner tube and directed outwardly and upwardly with reference thereto, a stationary closed casing around said carrier and into which said gap opens at its lower end, means defining a stationary chamber lying underneath said casing and having the lower end of said inner tube opening therein, air suction means, and a valve system operative to alternatively connect said casing and said chamber with said suction means to produce, during the formation of the hose, a stream of air directed downwardly through the gap to suck the hose towards the lower end of the gap and onto said carrier in said casing and, upon completion of the hose, to direct the stream of air upwardly in said gap over the upper end of the inner tube and then downwardly in the latter so as to evert the hose and allow it to drop through the inner tube into said chamber at the lower end of the latter.

2. A fabric-tensioning and everting arrangement for a cylindrical hose-producing knitting machine as in claim l; wherein said means defining a stationary chamber has a normally closed gate at the bottom of said chamber, said gate being adapted to open for permitting removal of the completed hose from said chamber.

3. A fabric-tensioning and everting arrangement for a cylindrical hose-producing knitting machine comprising a needle cylinder, an inner tube extending coaxially within said needle cylinder and rotating in synchronism with the latter, a perforated carrier fixed to the lower end of said inner tube and directed outwardly and upwardly with reference thereto, a stationary tube disposed coaxially within said needle cylinder and spaced radially outward from said inner tube to define an annular gap therebetween opening freely at its upper end, a stationary closed casing extending from said stationary tube and into which said gap opens at its lower end with said carr-ier being located in said casing, means defining a stationary chamber lying underneath said casing and having the lower end of said inner tube opening therein, air suction means, and a valve system operative to alternatively connect said casing and said chamber with the suction means to produce, during the formation of the hose, a stream of air directed downwardly through the gap to suck the hose toward the lower end of the gap onto said carrier in said casing and, upon completion of the hose, to direct the stream of air upwardly in said gap over the upper edge of said inner tube and then downwardly in the latter so as to evert the hose and allow it to drop through the inner tube into said chamber at the lower end of the latter.

4. A fabric-tensioning and everting arrangement for a cylindrical hose-producing knitting machine, comprising a needle cylinder, an inner tube extending coaxially within said needle cylinder and rotating in synchronism with the latter, a perforated carrier ixed on the lower end of the inner tube and directed outwardly with reference thereto, said inner tube being spaced radially from the needle cylinder to dene a cylindrical gap therebetween opening vfreely at its upper end, a closed casing containing said carrier and into which said gap opens at its lower end, means defining a chamber lying underneath said casing and having the lower end of the inner tube opening therein, air suction means having an air inlet and an air exhaust, a tirst pipe including a defiecting valve adapted to occupy lirst and second positions to alternatively connect said air inlet of the suction means with said casing and said chamber, respectively, a second pipe including a deecting valve adapted to occupy rst and second positions to alternatively connect said air exhaust of the suction means with the atmosphere and with said casing, respectively, and means controlling the deiiecting valves to alternatively produce, during the formation of the hose, a stream of air directed downwardly through the gap t0 suck the hose towards the lower end of the gap and onto said carrier and, upon completion of the hose, to direct the stream of air upwardly -in said gap over the upper edge of said inner tube and then downwardly through the latter to evert the hose and allow it to drop through the inner tube into said chamber at the lower end of the latter.

5, A fabric-tensioning and everting arrangement for a cylindrical hose-producing knitting machine as in claim 4; wherein said means controlling the deliecting valves includes a common control member for both ideilecting valves included in said first and second pipes and operative to simultaneously shift said valves between said rst and second positions thereof.

6. A fabric-tensioning and everting arrangement for a cylindrical hose-producing knitting machine as in claim 5; wherein said means defining the chamber has a normally closed gate at the bottom of said chamber, said gate being adapted to be opened so as to permit removal of the completed hose from said chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS l1,183,041 France s- Jan. 26, 1959 

1. A FABRIC TENSIONING AND EVERTING ARRANGEMENT FOR A CYLINDRICAL HOSE-PRODUCING KNITTING MACHINE, COMPRISING A NEEDLE CYLINDER, AND INNER TUBE EXTENDING COAXIAL WITHIN SAID NEEDLE CYLINDER AND ROTATING IN SYNCHRONISM WITH THE LATTER, SAID INNER TUBE BEING SPACED RADIALLY FROM SAID NEEDLE CYLINDER TO DEFINE AN ANNULAR GAP THEREBETWEEN OPENING FREELY AT ITS UPPER END, A PERFORATED CARRIER FIXED TO THE LOWER END OF SAID INNER TUBE AND DIRECTED OUTWARDLY AND UPWARDLY WITH REFERENCE THERETO, A STATIONARY CLOSED CASING AROUND SAID CARRIER AND INTO WHICH SAID GAP OPENS AT ITS LOWER END, MEANS DEFINING A STATIONARY CHAMBER LYING UNDERNEATH SAID CASING AND HAVING THE LOWER END OF SAID INNER TUBE OPENING THEREIN, AIR SUCTION MEANS, AND A VALVE SYSTEM OPERATIVE TO ALTERNATIVELY CONNECT SAID CASING AND SAID CHAMBER WITH SAID SUCTION MEANS TO PRODUCE, DURING THE FORMATION OF THE HOSE, A STREAM OF AIR DIRECTED DOWNWARDLY THROUGH THE GAP TO SUCK THE HOSE TOWARDS THE LOWER END OF THE GAP AND ONTO SAID CARRIER IN SAID CASING AND, UPON COMPLETION OF THE HOSE, TO DIRECT THE STREAM OF AIR UPWARDLY IN SAID GAP OVER THE UPPER END OF THE INNER TUBE AND THEN DOWNWARDLY IN THE LATTER SO AS TO EVERT THE HOSE AND ALLOW IT TO DROP THROUGH THE INNER TUBE INTO SAID CHAMBER AT THE LOWER END OF THE LATTER. 